Vermont Counties

There are fourteen counties in Vermont. Each county has a county seat, known in
Vermont as shire town. In 1777, Vermont had two counties. The western side of the state was called Bennington
County and the eastern was called Cumberland County. In 1781 Cumberland County was broken up into three counties
in Vermont, plus Washington County, which eventually became part of New Hampshire. Today's Washington County was
known as Jefferson County until 1814. Essex County, Orleans County, and Caledonia County are commonly referred
to as the Northeast Kingdom.

Chittenden County, Vermont

Chittenden County Education, Geography, and History

Chittenden County is a county located in the state of Vermont. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 156,545. The estimate for 2014
is 160,531. Its shire town is Burlington, the most populous city in the state. Home to nearly a quarter of Vermont's total population,
Chittenden County is the most populous county in the state, with more than twice as many residents as Vermont's second-most populous county,
Rutland County. It is named after Vermont's first governor and one of the framers of its constitution as a republic and state, Thomas
Chittenden.

Chittenden County is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Chittenden County Name

For Thomas Chittenden. Chittenden was born in East Guilford, Connecticut and moved to Vermont in 1774, where he founded the town of Williston. During the American Revolution, Chittenden was a member of a committee empowered to negotiate with the Continental Congress to allow Vermont
to join the Union.

Demographics:

Chittenden County History

The county of Chittenden was incorporated by act of the legislature of Vermont, Oct. 22, 1787. It is bounded on the
north by the counties of Grand Isle, Franklin, and Lamoille; south by the county of Addison; east by Lamoille and
Wasington; and west by the west line of the state, and the southerly part of the county of Grand Isle. The county is
eroneously said to be bounded "on the west by Lake Champlain." By statute [see Revised Statutes of Vermont, 1839], the
western boundary includes "so much of Lake Champlain as lies in this state west of the towns in said county adjoining
the lake, and not included within the limits of Grand Isle." The border towns, by their charters, were bounded "on the
west by the lake;" and it seems that the legislature did not consider that they extended, by legal construction, to the
west line of the state--which passes along its main or deepest channel.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 620 square miles (1,605 km2), of which, 539
square miles (1,396 km2) of it is land and 81 square miles (209 km2) of it (13.01%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

Grand Isle County, Vermont - north

Franklin County, Vermont - northeast

Lamoille County, Vermont - east

Washington County, Vermont - southeast

Addison County, Vermont - south

Essex County, New York - southwest

Clinton County, New York - northwest

Education

There are several school districts within the county, including Burlington, Winooski and Chittenden East. Teachers salaries in 2007-8
varied from lows of $33,000 to $38,000 annually. Top salaries ranged from $66,000 to $79,000. Teachers pay from 10-20% of their health
premiums with many contracts at 12%.

Higher education

The University of Vermont *Vermont's flagship public research university and is located in Burlington.
Chittenden County is home to the University of Vermont, Champlain College, and Burlington College, which are located in the city of
Burlington. A campus of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Vermont's first pharmacy school) and the campus of Saint Michael's
College are in the town of Colchester. A branch of the Community College of Vermont is located in Winooski and a satellite campus of Vermont
Technical College is located in Williston.